SOCIAL EVALUATION OF THE USER INTERFACE: WHO DOES THE WORK AND WHO GETS THE BENEFIT?

When an application requires the involvement of several users, evaluating its functionality and interface becomes more complex: that which benefits one user might not benefit another. An application program written to support cooperative work may present a systematic imbalance in the efforts required of and benefits obtained by different categories of user. Such imbalances may affect the acceptance and use of a product in unforeseen ways. The collective benefit to the group may be difficult to measure, and even if established, may be difficult to communicate effectively to those who do not benefit directly. In weighing a potential development project, decision-makers may be inordinately influenced by the attractiveness of the system to managers such as themselves, and not perceive that the requisite cooperation of other users of the application will not be forthcoming when those users do not benefit equally. In the absence of careful analysis, decisions to build unworkable systems are not only possible, but likely. These points are elaborated through the examination of several multi-user application areas in the context of evolving technology trends, organizational practices, and social tendencies.